Abiodun Raises Alarm over Planned Attacks on Campaign Team

Abiodun Raises Alarm over Planned Attacks on Campaign Team

By Femi Ogbonnikan in Abeokuta

The Dapo Biodun Campaign Organisation (DACO) has raised the alarm over what it described as a “planned smear campaign and violent attack against the Ogun State governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prince Dapo Abiodun.”

The organisation, in a statement signed and made available to journalists yesterday by its spokesperson, Mr. Remmy Hassan, alleged that there is a “planned attempt to increase smear campaign against our candidate, Abiodun, and attack his convoy.”

According to him, “As we plan to kick-start our local government tour from Ijebu North East Local Government on January 7, 2019, it has become necessary to inform the public that intelligence at our disposal reveals plans from certain quarters not only to heighten smear campaign against our candidate, Abiodun, but to also attack his convoy as we move round the state with our teeming supporters.

“We want to let the public know that our campaign organisation, as promised from outset, has continued to run decent and issue-based campaign with zero tolerance for violence. We therefore find it appalling and alarming that some desperate politicians with their known sponsor and collaboratorsare planning devilish acts against a decent candidate who is only offering to use his wealth of experience and established connections in the service of our dear state in order to take Ogun State to greater heights.

“Our schedule of tour was carefully selected and copies of same were sent to the security agencies in advance. We will never take the voters for granted.  We want to continue to meet, talk to, and interact with Ogun voters and sell the vision and programmes of our party and candidates to the voters without intimidation, harassment or coercion.

“We are also aware of the plan by the state government to dissolve some elected local government administrations across the state, whose chairmen and councilors have insisted that they remain in APC and have refused to work against the party on whose platform they were elected in the first place.

“In the last few weeks, our party members in various wards in the state have suffered serious harassment, persecution, forceful take-over of our secretariats at wards and local government levels, and the dubious re-painting of such in the colours of the Allied Peoples’ Movements (APM) with the backing of people in government.”

The statement further alleged that “party offices and assets have been destroyed and our campaign materials have been continuously defaced all over the state, especially in Abeokuta, the state capital. We have continued to document and report these provocative and violent acts to the police authorities, who seem to be helpless.

The current level of intolerance and impunity has never been witnessed in the history of electioneering since the creation of Ogun State in 1976.

“We are using this medium to call on all security agencies not to be discouraged from their constitutional duties for any reason whatsoever and by anybody, whosoever.”

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